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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29633913">the lover.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/discodancing/pseuds/discodancing'>discodancing</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the jailbird. [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Arguing, Established Relationship, M/M, Minor Angst, Morally Ambiguous Character, Not RPF, Prison, Relationship Study, george is bonkers he just hides it better than dream does, the obligatory george visits prison fic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:27:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,315</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29633913</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/discodancing/pseuds/discodancing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>the lover is a good man, a kind man, a smart man. unfortunately, sometimes, lovers like him love not so good, not so kind and not so smart men.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the jailbird. [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2174445</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the lover.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hellooo!! welcome to the lover! a few things to list off before we start, please read them!</p>
<p>—THIS IS PART OF A SERIES! it can be read as a standalone, i suppose, but i do strongly suggest reading part one, ‘the warden’, before this, because it provides some perspective on dream’s prison life and also the way his mind works. it’s... sort of the needed second perspective to this story, because this story takes place in george’s head. there are some things he is certainly wrong about. </p>
<p>—THIS IS NOT RPF! this story utilizes the characters and universe of the dream smp, not the real people who portray these characters.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The lover is a good man, a kind man, a smart man. He is all of this, but unfortunately, the lover’s love happens to be the opposite of all of these things. </p>
<p>The lover loves a man obsessed with justice and all things fair, though maybe his view of justice is a little bit twisted. This man is a big picture kind of man, the person who stands ten feet behind the goal and demolishes every hurdle to get there. There are good intentions in there, somewhere, but the lover cannot seem to find them anymore. </p>
<p>Good intentions, good intentions. What could they possibly be? He’s got no good idea, because as much as the lover wants Dream to be a good person, to learn from his mistakes (crimes, as they should be called), he won’t. </p>
<p>The lover’s name is George the NotFound, because when he is not by Dream’s side it is almost like he doesn’t exist at all. He is not a person, only an accessory— Dream’s lapdog, as Tommy had once called him. George the NotFound does not want to be this. He wants to be just George, the good, kind and smart man. </p>
<p>But, of course, George the GoodKindSmart is far too much of a mouthful, so he remains the NotFound because Dream is in prison, not by his side.</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>The lover never wanted to visit this prison. He doesn’t want to see Dream weak, lacking the power he normally wields with an iron fist. He doesn’t want to see him sad, no matter how much he may deserve to be so. </p>
<p>He already knows what Dream feels, as all of the feelings are spilled in messy penmanship across letters that are delivered to the lover’s door. He gets one every two days, hand delivered to him by a warden who really needs a raise. The letters are heartbreaking, they say ‘I miss you, George’ and ‘I love you, George’ though the lover has the sinking feeling that Dream does not mean any of this. </p>
<p>Pain can make people say whatever they need to in order to get the help they feel they deserve. Dream feels that he deserves everything, while the lover feels he deserves only what he’s getting. As much as it hurts, a prison cell is where Dream belongs. As much as it hurts, maybe it’s for the best that the lover plans never to see him again. </p>
<p>It’s hard to imagine a future without Dream, because a past without Dream means that the lover would not be alive. It means that the lover and his soldier friend would be long dead, victims to monsters or people or themselves. A future without Dream is terrifying.</p>
<p>So, when the warden delivers another letter and says that maybe it is a good idea for the lover to visit just once, George the NotFound decides that maybe he’d like to feel whole again. </p>
<p>—</p>
<p>The prison sucks, the lover decides. It’s expertly designed, escaping near impossible, but its atmosphere is so haunting that the lover wants to leave the moment he’s thrown all of his things in the storage chest. It almost feels like he’s about to be sucked up into it, like he’ll enter and never return.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s worth the nerves, though, when he finally makes it through the lava and sees his Dream, sitting against the wall with the mask laying on the floor next to him. They’d communicated in letters before the lover’s visit— his condition was that Dream was not allowed to wear that stupid fucking mask. The lover wants to chuck it into the lava. </p>
<p>“Dream,” the lover says, because he doesn’t quite know what else he’s meant to. He could’ve gone a thousand years without seeing him again, but now that they’re close, the lover wants nothing more than to be found again. He wants only to be human. </p>
<p>“George, c’mere.” His arms are wide open, and the lover falls into them like maybe he’s always been meant to. If this is all he is, all he is destined to ever be, maybe it’s not so bad. </p>
<p>He is the lover, after all, somebody made to love and then to throw away once he is no longer useful. This is what he assumes, at least, because not once has he felt real love from Dream. Not in the gentle touches, not in the kisses, and certainly not in anything else they do. He is the lover— designed only to give and never take, but maybe that’s okay because he knows it. He knows, so he does not make a habit of getting his hopes up for anything. </p>
<p>He presses himself into Dream the way he is used to, face pressed into his neck. Dream hums, hand moving upwards to thread through the lover’s hair. It is comfort, the way they touch, and maybe it’s sad that it feels like home. The prison is home, because home is wherever Dream has landed himself. The lover does not need a real home as long as Dream is nearby, comforting him the way only he seems to know how. </p>
<p>“I didn’t want to come here.” George says, and his voice is barely above a whisper because the admission feels like a crime. </p>
<p>Dream hums once more. “I know. I’m surprised you did.” </p>
<p>“You’re not mad?” The lover asks, running fingers along the rough fabric that covers Dream’s chest. </p>
<p>“Not at you.” Is Dream’s response. Huh. </p>
<p>“At who, then?” The lover asks, and normally he is not in the habit of asking so many questions, but it feels safer when he knows that there is nobody else around. Dream would never hurt him, he knows, but it is easier to ask questions amidst privacy. </p>
<p>“Everybody else, I think.” Dream says, and his voice drops to the chilling tone that the lover often pretends he doesn’t hear. There is no room for pretending in this cell, and for once he must face it head on. “They— they fucked me over, George.” </p>
<p>The lover frowns. “I know they did, but— don’t you think maybe it’s better for you in here?” </p>
<p>Dream backs away from him rather promptly. The lover flinches. “What? Why would you say that?”</p>
<p>You see, the lover is not often honest because of exactly this. He is always doing quite the intricate dance, waltzing across the thinnest of eggshells whenever he chooses his words. He is no poet, so he must be careful with what he says, but apparently he is sometimes not very successful in his efforts. Dream looks angry.</p>
<p>Yet, still, the lover must stand his ground. Tough love is incredibly important, he knows, and he also knows that Dream must hear the truth eventually, </p>
<p>“I don’t want you to hurt anyone else.” The lover says, and he sighs. He’s so tired of loving something so destructive, and as much as he wants to pretend that he doesn’t anymore, that’s not the way it works and he knows that for certain. </p>
<p>Dream scowls. “They had it coming.” He says, and the lover sighs again because this is a conversation he’s sure he had a million times. “They only have themselves to blame, now.” </p>
<p>“No, Dream.” The lover mutters. “You have yourself to blame. You never had to take the discs, you never had to retaliate against Tommy. Those were” he shoves a finger into Dream’s chest hard, “Your. Choices.” </p>
<p>Oh, and Dream has the audacity to look so heartbroken, the lover almost feels bad. He doesn’t because suddenly he feels that he’s reached the end of his rope, but everything about Dream’s face screams ‘run before he reels you in again, run, run’. </p>
<p>“Get out.” Dream whispers, and the lover scoffs. </p>
<p>“Gladly.”</p>
<p>On his way out, the lover pretends he does not hear Dream utter the three most terrifying words he’s ever heard. I. Love. You.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you so much for reading!</p>
<p>if you enjoyed, please leave a comment and let me know what you liked about it! i am also open to hearing criticism if it is kept constructive and polite, thank you! :)</p>
<p>have a wonderful rest of your day, kind reader!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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